ADH� Disorder? Discoveries on ADHD and physics learning from collaborative autoethnography

Abstract

The prevalence of Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses has increased in the last two decades thanks to greater mental health awareness and access to mental health care. The number of students diagnosed with ADHD entering colleges and universities is also increasing, yet scholarship around effective pedagogical methods that cater to this population's strengths is severely lacking and remains largely deficit focused. After struggling to find published work on the experiences of adult physics students with ADHD, we set out to conduct our own research. Through our collaborative autoethnographic investigation we discovered that active learning environments such as those supported by the Learning Assistant (LA) Model cater to ADHD students' strengths due to their flexibility and adaptability to unique ways of thinking and processing. Furthermore, we found that these students' success was bolstered by the pedagogical and cultural changes in the department brought on by the adoption of the LA Program's evidencebased and equity-focused philosophy.